Travelers' Tales
by Zelinxia
Summary: A collection of drabbles, usually 100 words, that pertains to the series. Spoilers and ratings may wary and I will mention those for each one in advance.
1. Fallen Comrade

**Title:** Fallen Comrade**  
>Word Count: <strong>100**  
>Rating: <strong>T**  
>Setting: <strong>Outo

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><p>They came back to find the café was wrecked but there were no traces of blood or signs of a murder gone afoul.<p>

"Syaoran! Kurogane! Fai was attacked by demons!"

Blurry memories of a severed arm being devoured punctured Kurogane the same time his blood went cold.

"Was he…eaten…by demons?"

"Mokona doesn't know."

Which still meant the mage was dead.

He was horribly reminded when the blonde disregarded his own life earlier. Yes, he was an idiot but he was still as much a comrade of Kurogane's in this tangled mess.

And a comrade like him didn't deserve to die.


	2. Kurogane

**Title**: Kurogane  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 100  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG  
><strong>Setting<strong>: (Acid) Tokyo

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><p>"Good morning, Kurogane."<p>

Those three words, one significant while the others rather meaningless, echoed in the ninja's head. That _one_ word struck wounds, injuries that not even swords could inflict, gripping his chest and slowly suffocating him.

All the while, the damn idiot nonchalantly smiled, _again_, as if his words were insignificant. Or rather, as if the mage was well pleased with his sharp tongue.

He knew Fai wouldn't forgive him for saving his life. That was inevitable.

Yet Kurogane had no idea that his own name would be the one weapon that could destroy everything they had between them.


	3. Wings of Your Imagination

**Title**: Wings of Your Imagination  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 100  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Setting<strong>: The End at Clow

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><p>No bird can ever fly without its two wings. Nor can it fly without the wind's gentle support.<p>

There were losses and sacrifices. An eye, an arm, a leg. A heart. A soul. Loved ones dead.

Yet for every losses and shattered dreams there were hope. One fueled by the meaning of true strength. Another nourished with the beauty of life and happiness. Two soulmates reunite. While the last supports the family.

In the kingdom of shifting sands where the story comes full circle, the family splits. Yet surely, they will meet again.

The future has never looked so free.


	4. If Only

**Title**: If Only  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Word Coun<strong>t: 100  
><strong>Setting<strong>: Infinity

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><p>Sometimes Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques came in handy.<p>

Like that time she sucked the feather from that up to no good "doctor".

Other times it had its comical purposes like perfect imitation.

But there were times it came with grievances.

Especially now.

Mokona was hurt and felt helpless as she watched the family she loved from the beginning fall apart.

Sakura lost her important person and seemed distant.

"Syaoran" felt alienated.

Fai was cold and furious.

But Kurogane was devastated as much as Mokona.

And for that reason, Mokona would do everything in her power to make the father smile.

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><p><strong>AN: **I recently reread the Infinity arc and noticed several instances where Mokona was able to make Kurogane smile. I find that really, really sweet. But so heartbreaking at the same time. Especially with everything all of them were going through. It's so painful. And I can't but help feel for Kurogane who tries so hard to keep the family together while Mokona feels equally the same. Therefore - there's a connection between them during this hard time.


	5. Eyes

**Title**: Eyes  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 50  
><strong>Setting<strong>: Yama  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: My obsession with eyes is far different than CLAMP's obsession with eyes. This is also my very first 50-words drabble.

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><p>His cerulean eyes held lies discreetly.<p>

His crimson eyes penetrated those defenses unrelentingly.

They couldn't be far more different.

But now both red and blue were black.

In this harrowing world with a never-ending war and no signs of the others, they had found solace and connection in their similarity.


	6. Perfect Remedy

**Title**: Perfect Remedy  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>300  
><strong>Setting<strong>: Presumably post-series

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><p>He hadn't felt ill like this in a while, and it was a miracle he never did previously through the course of the journey.<p>

Kurogane lay there in bed, feeling uncomfortably hot; but if he removed the sheets his skin would shiver in cold sweat. His head was throbbing from a high – but not dangerous – fever, and he could feel aches in each and every of his bones and muscles. Sleep was what he needed, desperately, but every time he closed his eyes, his forehead would sear in agony.

Just then Fai entered his bedroom with a tray and stacked it on his nightstand. He sat on the edge of the bed and examined him. Although he wasn't frowning, he definitely wasn't happy. The blonde pressed a palm against Kurogane's forehead and, if he wasn't mistaken, Fai flinched and slowly removed his hand away. The mage then picked up a piece of cloth and dipped it in a bowl of water. After wringing out some good chunk of water, he placed it over the ill man's forehead. The damp cloth didn't ease all of the pain throbbing in his forehead immediately, but it was something, and he was never glad for the gesture, his presence.

"I'm sorry I'm not good with healing magic," Fai said. He frowned, hurt about his incapability.

Kurogane never expected to have the best of the remedies available. When he was young, he had instances of coping with long-term illnesses. His mother would tend to him while at the same time offered her prayers for his well-being. He knew quick recovery could not always be counted on.

It took a lot for him to wrack some words in his state of exhaustion and delirium before he opened his mouth and talk back.

"You're good enough, idiot."

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: This was based on one prompt I filled for the 1sentence challenge over at LiveJournal where for 50 prompts I could only write one sentence for each for a pairing (which was Fai and Kurogane). The prompt that inspired this drabble was "Sickness" and the sentence was as followed:

_"I'm sorry I'm not good with healing magic," Fai said, placing a cool cloth over the other man's feverish forehead; and in his state of exhaustion and delirium, Kurogane struggled to say, "You're good enough, idiot."_


	7. When All Hell Breaks Loose

**Title**: When All Hell Breaks Loose  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-ish  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 100  
><strong>Setting<strong>: Acid Tokyo

**Note**: I was listening to "Catastrophe" in the TRC soundtrack, and it was played in the anime when all hell breaks loose in Tokyo. So I had to write this.

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><p>Was all of this supposed to happen?<p>

Was the kid supposed to lose his heart?

Was the princess supposed to lose her most important person?

Was this new kid supposed to come at a recklessly, cruel wrong time?

Was the mage supposed to be betrayed, and now be on the brink of death?

You feel helpless. Were you supposed to feel that way?

Was this what _hitsuzen_ had in store for you all?

You want to yell at the witch, but you don't.

Instead, you make a wish.

Because it's the _only_ thing you can fix in these hellish times.


	8. Red

**Title**: Red  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 100  
><strong>Setting<strong>: None in particular, but spoilers references of Fai's past and Celes.  
><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Inspired by Meriko-chan's lovely artwork titled "Relaxation" (and her description), which you can find here http:/meriko-chan(dot)deviantart(dot)com(slash)art(slash)100-Relaxation-261045462.

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><p>To say that snow and ice reminds Fai of cold and emptiness is an understatement.<p>

It isn't the whiteness, although it does remind him of worlds he came from and left behind.

Instead, red is the only color that comes to mind. Red for the blood spilt from his beloved brother, beloved king, and even his beloved ninja onto the snow.

But now as he admires the beauty of winter against the other's chest and tilts his head back, the only red he sees is Kurogane's eyes that look at him affectionately.

This time red means enduring warmth and happiness.


	9. Pawn

**Title**: Pawn  
><strong>Word Count<strong>: 100  
><strong>Rating<strong>: G  
><strong>Setting<strong>: Nihon  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: For Kurogane's past, Volume 13

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><p>At a young age Princess Tomoyo calmly understood that she would help the witch save Suwa's young lord from being that man's pawn. The fall of the province and the dying wishes of the lady were matters Tomoyo had to accept with grace and dignity.<p>

Yet when she saw the boy coming to terms with his tragic losses and grieving uncontrollably, Tomoyo struggled to remain steady. The stake of the universes hinged on this game and he was a piece…but at the cruel expense of his family, home, and happiness.

Overwhelmed by his pathos, she wept to sleep that night.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I wrote this drabble for a different project I've been working on, but I wanted to share this in this collection. I was always amazed at how strong and calm Princess Tomoyo was even when she was very young. In the manga, when young Kurogane breaks down after she snaps him back to reality, you can see her tiny hand reaching out to comfort him. So strong and so touching... And yet I imagine at her age, she would have been overwhelmed at the tragedy he had to go through, but in the end suffered and mourned in privacy.


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